Researchers discover fecal transplants can benefit canines with epilepsy

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Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) and the Center for Systems Neuroscience in Hannover, Germany, shared findings from a joint study that showed fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) can have a positive impact on canines suffering from epilepsy. The researchers discovered that FMT can reduce negative mental health symptoms in these patients, especially those who have a type of epilepsy that is resistant to drug treatment.

“If you think of the microbiome like a garden, FMT is like putting in a whole new ecosystem. You’re adding in all kinds of bacteria and other organisms to see if something changes. What’s most interesting is that our research team measured the seizure frequency in the patients after the treatment, and that improvement was not very strong. The behavior change was much more pronounced,” explained Jan Suchodolski, MedVet, DrVetMed, PhD, AGAF, DACVM, the associate director of research and head of microbiome sciences at the Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Laboratory.¹

FMT has recently gained traction within the human medicine space in the last 20 years due to an increased understanding of the microbiome. Although investigated here for its benefits with epilepsy, the microbiome has been discovered to influence other parts of the body, including what is called the gut-brain axis. According to the release,¹ there are currently some veterinary experts starting to study that relationship in regards to animal health.

The researchers in the study treated 9 canines that were drug-resistant epilepsy, a type of epilepsy that affects two-thirds of dogs with epilepsy. According to the study,² the researchers shared that the drug-resistant epilepsy typically has more anxiety and ADHD type symptoms when compared to dogs that have epilepsy that is not drug-resistant.

“Each patient in the study received FMT 3 times over a period of several weeks, and was monitored during follow-up appointments. After treatment, each of the 9 dogs showed significant improvements to their mental health, including a reduction of anxiety-like behavior and improved quality of life,” said Suchodolski.¹

“While we don’t yet understand the mechanism causing these behavioral improvements, we hope to continue developing new ways to help patients with drug-resistant diseases using microbiome science. Research in this field is highly translational, meaning it is helpful to both human and veterinary medicine,” he continued.

References

1. Price C. Fecal Transplants Reduce ADHD, Anxiety Symptoms In Dogs With Epilepsy, Texas A&M Researchers Find. Texas A&M Today. Published September 24, 2024. Accessed September 25, 2024. https://today.tamu.edu/2024/09/24/fecal-transplants-reduce-adhd-anxiety-in-dogs/
2. Watanangura A, Meller S, Farhat N, et al. Behavioral comorbidities treatment by fecal microbiota transplantation in canine epilepsy: a pilot study of a novel therapeutic approach. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2024;11. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1385469